Our Favorite Penguin Pictures: Fuzzy Chicks, Expert Divers, More

Admiring the View

Photograph by Joel Sartore, National Geographic

A colony of gentoo penguins perch on a rocky cliff on Danco Island, Antarctica.

In honor of Penguin Awareness Day, we decided to dive into the National Geographic photo archive to look at the bird with the iconic tuxedo coat and characteristic waddle. (See more penguin pictures.)

All 17 species of penguins, which range in size from the 3.3-pound (1.5 kilogram) little blue penguin to the 88-pound (40 kilogram) emperor penguin, live in the Southern Hemisphere.

Flightless and comically awkward on land, they spend the majority of their time in the water, and their bodies are streamlined for swimming.

Keep clicking to see our favorite penguin pictures.

—Text by Anna Lukacs, photo edit by Sherry L. Brukbacher

Published January 20, 2015

Penguin Pair

Photograph by Frans Lanting, National Geographic

A pair of macaroni penguins nestle in the grass on South Georgia Island.

Eighteenth-century British explorers thought the bird's yellow crest feathers resembled the flamboyant "macaroni" hat that was popular at the time.

With nine million breeding pairs, macaroni penguins are the most populous of the penguin species. (Also see "Emperor Penguins Counted From Space—A First.")

Published January 20, 2015

Ready for Its Close-Up

Photograph by Tom Murphy, National Geographic

The vivid colors of a king penguin on South Georgia Island (map) are evident in this tight shot.

King penguins are often confused with emperor penguins. Both are tall birds, but emperors are the largest of all penguins—an average bird stands some 45 inches (114 centimeters) tall.

The distinct, bright orange pattern on their head and chest distinguishes the king penguins; they also live further north than their Antarctic counterparts.

Published January 20, 2015

Royal Huddle

Photograph by Michael Melford, National Geographic

A colony of king penguins mingle on the beach at St. Andrews Bay, South Georgia Island.

Although their preferred habitat is warmer than that of emperor penguins, king penguins have four layers of feathers and huddle together for warmth. (Read more about king penguins in National Geographic Magazine.)

Published January 20, 2015

Walk Like a Penguin

Photograph by Bill Curtsinger, National Geographic

Photographer Bill Curtsinger waddles alongside a group of chinstrap penguins in Antarctica.

Chinstrap penguins are related to Adélie and gentoo penguins, which are part of a group commonly known as brush-tailed penguins. The chinstrap is the only one with a distinctive, all-white face. (Read about the evolution of penguin species.)

Published January 20, 2015

Tangled

Photograph by Frans Lanting, National Geographic

A gentoo penguin lies entangled in a fishing net on a Falkland Islands (map)beach in 2011.

Net fishing is just one threat facing penguin populations—a decline in krill, their main food source, is also causing their numbers to decline.

Published January 20, 2015